Swimming device



Jul 21, 1925.

S. M. OSULLIVAN SWIMMING DEVICE Filed July 21. 1924 has/760;"

g gator-megs Patented July 21, 1925.

svrvnsrnn 1a. OSULLIVAN, or s-anrnanoisco, eALrronniA.

SWIMMING DEVICE;

AppIication filedJuly 21, 1924. Serial No; 727,228.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, SYnvns'rnn M. OSUL- LrvAN, a citizen of the United States, residing: at the city and county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Swimming Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to swimming devices and particularly to a swimming paddle, adapted to besecured to the hand of aswimmerq The "speed of a swimmer depends not only upon his strength and his knowledge of swimming strokes but also upon the resistance of his hands against the water. This resistance, of course, varies in accordance with the size of the hand.

It is the primary object of my invention to provide an improved swimming device which consists of a paddle, adapted to be secured. one to each hand of a swimmer to increase the area of resistance offered to the water, the speed of the swimmer thereby being greatly increased. I

It is a further object of my invention to provide a swimming paddle of the type above stated, constructed to be secured to the back of a swimmers hand in a manner leaving the fingers and hand free to grasp a rope or other object in the water.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in the features of construction and operation set forth in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawing. In such drawing annexed hereto and forming a part of this specification I have shown certain specific embodiments of my invention, but it will be understood that the invention, can be otherwise embodied and that the drawing is not to be construed as defining or limiting the scope of the invention; the claims appended to this specification being relied upon for that purpose.

Referring to the figures of the drawing:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of my improved swimming paddle;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof taken on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a slightly modified form of my invention.

Fig. l is a transverse section thereof, taken on line l& of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 shows a staple used in constructing the paddle.

Fig. 6 shows the staple as applied to the:

paddle.

drawing, 1 indicates my improvedswimming paddle which may be constructed of wood,- metal or any material desired. This paddle is preferably curved transversely for the purpose of more readily catching the water and providing greater resistance for the swimmers stroke. paddle is adapted to be secured to the swimmers hand, indicated. at 2, with the paddle extending considerably beyond the hand. This extended distance of the paddle may be varied as may seem desirable. l -Vhen the paddle is made of wood, as illustrated in the drawing, a metal strip 3 is preferably extended around the end thereof to keep the paddle from splitting and from losing its shape.

As a means for securing the paddle to the hand, I have shown an adjustable band & extending transversely across the paddle and through notches 5 cut into the edge of the paddle. A staple 6- also extends transversely over the band midway between the sides of the paddle the staple extending through the paddle and being clinched on the convex side thereof. A pad 7 is also preferably provided on the paddle, beneath the band 4, for receiving the knuckles of the swimmers hand.

As shown in Fig. 1, the concave side of the paddle rests against the swimmers hand with the fingers of the hand beneath. the band 4i, two fingers being on each side of the staple 6. A buckle 8 is provided, whereby the band a can be adjusted to properly fit the fingers. In the swimming operation the concave side of the paddle catches the water and greatly increases the resistance of the swimmers stroke which, of course, results in increasing the swimmers speed.

A feature of great importance in my invention is illustrated in Fig. 2. This fea ture resides in the fact that the connection of the paddle to the hand is such as to in no way interfere with the swimmers grip. The band 4 extends only across the base of the fingers, thus leaving the fingers and hand 2 free to grasp a rope or any object thrown into or floating on the water. This feature also gives the swimmer freedom to help any other person who is in distress in the water.

Referring first to; Figs. 1 and 2 of the The concaved side of the In Figs. 3 and 4 I have shown a slightly modified form of my invention. Instead of notching the edges of the paddle, as at 5 in F ig, 1, I provide a pair of holes 9 through the paddle for receiving the band 4; otherwise this paddle is the same as that shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and above described.

As will be noted, the construction of my device is extremely simple. The paddle per so as illustrated comprises an originally fiat piece of wood curved transversely to concavo-convex form. This paddle is preferably reinforced by the metal strip 3. The knuckle pad 7 and the holding band 4 are provided as illustrated and described. The staple 6 for holding the band 4: is illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6, the original form of the staple being shown in Fig. 5 and its form after its connection to the paddle being shown in Fig. 6.

While, as will be understood from the above description, my invention is adapted to serve primarily as a swimming paddle, the same in its broader sense is a propelling device for a person in the water. The device can be used in conjunction with life preservers, since a person in the water can propel himself through the water or away from any wreck, rock or obstacle of any character that he wishes to avoid. This use is particularly enhanced by the novel construction permitting free use of the hand for grasping purposes.

Having thus described my invention, what 1 claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is-- 1. A swimming device comprising an oblong paddle curved transversely of its length and means adjacent one end of the paddle for securing the concave side of the paddle to the back of a hand in a manner leaving the fingers and hand free to grasp.

2. A swimming device comprising a transversely curved paddle, a pad on the concave side thereof, and a band over the pad and secured to the paddle, the band being adapted to receive the lingers of a hand with the knuckles thereof resting against the pad.

3. A swimming device comprising a transversely curved paddle, a band connected to the paddle and extending transversely over the concave side thereof, and a staple extending across the band and connected to the paddle midway bet-ween the sides thereof.

SYLVE STER M. OSULLIVAN. 

